Well, I read a bunch of fiction. Winter is such a good time for reading. It’s the coziest. Get a hot beverage and a snack, curl up on the couch, bliss. If you fall asleep, even better. Naps are an essential part of the reading life, in my opinion.
The Patternist Series by Octavia Butler
- _Wild Seed
- Mind of My Mind
- Clay’s Ark
- Patternmaster
I read the whole series this month, kind of as one big book. I liked the first two best; Clay’s Ark was my least favorite and Patternmaster dragged at first. But it was satisfying to follow the storyline all the way.
A bunch of Gamache books by Louise Penny
- Penny - A Rule Against Murder
- A Trick of the Light
- Penny - How the Light Gets In
- Penny - The Beautiful Mystery
- Penny - The Long Way Home
I don’t know, these just hit the spot this month. I mean, I always enjoy the Gamache books—cozy, interesting and growing characters, complex relationships, well-plotted mysteries. Plus, the food. What’s not to like? But they were especially perfect for this month of snow and ice and gray days.
One thing that annoyed me, which I may not have noticed if I hadn’t read 5 Gamache books in one month: The continual reiteration of body size for anyone who is not thin. So many references to the bulk/flesh/weight/largeness of these characters. Also, so much picking on Ruth Zardo. She’s the best character. Leave her alone.
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
We have to give up. You surrender to the reality that things just take the time they take, and that you can’t quiet your anxieties by working faster, because it isn’t within your power to force reality’s pace as much as you feel you need to, and because the faster you go, the faster you’ll feel you need to go. …When you finally face the truth that you can’t dictate how fast things go, you stop trying to outrun your anxiety, and your anxiety is transformed. Digging in to a challenging work project that can’t be hurried becomes not a trigger for stressful emotions but a bracing act of choice; giving a difficult novel the time it demands becomes a source of relish.
(Chapter 10)
A good read. Not as WOW as I expected from all the hype, but that’s probably because I’m reading it now, 4 years after it was published. Since then, there’s been lots of discussion and many, many essays on the main ideas. Also, the ideas aren’t new; but they’re presented well, with clear explanations and chewy little nuggets. Points worth pondering, important perspective.
DNF
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
The writing is fine and the world-building is interesting. It just didn’t grip me. 🤷♀️ Moving on.
Update: Here is an actual review of this book that nails it.
The Evolving Self by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
A classic case of “This book could have been a blog post.” Or a series of articles, to be fair. Good points, but kind of basic and overworked. For me, not enough thought-provoking stuff to spend more time on it.
